On our return to the Toion's, we found supper prepared for us, which differed in nothing from our former repast; and concluded with our treating the Toion and his wife with some of the spirits we had brought with us, made into punch. Captain Gore, who had great generosity on all occasions, having afterward made them some valuable presents, they retired to the kitchen, leaving us in possession of the outward room, where, spreading our bear-skins on the benches, we were glad to get a little repose, having settled with our conductors to resume our journey as soon as the ground should be judged fit for travelling.

About nine o'clock the same evening we were awakened by the melancholy howlings of the dogs, which continued all the time our baggage was lashing upon the sledges; but as soon as they were yoked, and we were all prepared to set out, this changed into a light cheerful yelping, which, entirely ceased the instant they marched off. But before we set out, the reader may expect to be made more particularly acquainted with this curious mode of travelling.

The body of the sledge is about four feet and a half long, and a foot wide, made in the form of a crescent, of light tough wood, strongly bound together with wicker-work; which, in those belonging to the better sort of people, is elegantly stained of a red and blue colour, and the seat covered with bear-skins, or other furs. It is supported by four legs, about two feet high, which rest on two long flat pieces of wood, five or six inches broad, extending a foot at each end beyond the body of the sledge. These are turned up before in the manner of a skate, and shod with the bone of some sea-animal. The fore-part of the carriage is ornamented with thongs of leather and tassels of coloured cloth; and from the cross-bar, to which the harness is joined, are hung links of iron, or small bells, the jingling of which they conceive to be encouraging to the dogs. They are seldom used to carry more than one person at a time, who sits aside, resting his feet on the lower part of the sledge, and carrying his provisions and other necessaries, wrapped up in a bundle, behind him. The dogs are usually five in number, yoked two and two, with a leader. The reins, not being fastened to the head of the dogs, but to the collars, have little power over them, and are therefore generally hung upon the sledge, whilst the driver depends entirely on their obedience to his voice for the direction of them. With this view, the leader is always trained up with a particular degree of care and attention; some of them rising to a most extraordinary value on account of their docility and steadiness; insomuch, that for one of these, I am well assured, forty roubles (or ten pounds) was no unusual price. The driver is also provided with a crooked stick, which answers the purpose both of whip and reins; as, by striking it into the snow, he is enabled to moderate the speed of the dogs, or even to stop them entirely; and when they are lazy, or otherwise inattentive to his voice, he chastises them by throwing it at them. Upon these occasions their dexterity in picking it up again is very remarkable, and forms the principal difficulty of their art. But it is indeed not surprising that they should labour to be skilful in a practice upon which their safety so materially depends. For they say, that if the driver should happen to lose his stick, the dogs will instantly perceive it; and unless their leader be of the most sober and resolute kind, they will immediately run a-head full speed, and never stop till they are quite spent. But as that will not be the case soon, it generally happens that either the carriage is overturned, and dashed to pieces against the trees, or they hurry down some precipice, and are all buried in the snow. The accounts that were given us of the speed of these dogs, and of their extraordinary patience of hunger and fatigue, were scarcely credible, if they had not been supported by the best authority. We were indeed ourselves witnesses of the great expedition with which the messenger, who had been dispatched to Bolcheretsk with the news of our arrival, returned to the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, though the snow was at this time exceedingly soft. But I was informed, by the commander of Kamtschatka, that this journey was generally performed in two days and a half; and that he had once received an express from the latter place in twenty-three hours.

The dogs are fed, during the winter, on the offals of dried and stinking fish; but are always deprived of this miserable food a day before they set out on a journey, and never suffered to eat before they reach the end of it. We were also told, that it was not unusual for them to continue thus fasting two entire days, in which time they would perform a journey of one hundred and twenty miles.[17] These dogs are in shape somewhat like the Pomeranian breed, but considerably larger.

As we did not choose to trust to our own skill, we had each of us a man to drive and guide the sledge, which, from the state the roads were now in, proved a very laborious business. For, as the thaw had advanced very considerably in the vallies, through which our road lay, we were under the necessity of keeping along the sides of the hills; and this obliged our guides, who were provided with snow-shoes for that purpose, to support the sledges, on the lower side, with their shoulders, for several miles together. I had a very good-humoured cossack to attend me, who was, however, so very unskilful in his business, that we were overturned almost every minute, to the great entertainment of the rest of the company. Our party consisted in all of ten sledges. That in which Captain Gore was carried, was made of two lashed together, and abundantly provided with furs and bear-skins; it had ten dogs, yoked four a-breast; as had also some of those that were heavy laden with baggage.

When we had proceeded about four miles it began to rain; which, added to the darkness of the night, threw us all into confusion. It was at last agreed, that we should remain where we were till day-light; and accordingly we came to anchor in the snow, (for I cannot better express the manner in which the sledges were secured,) and wrapping ourselves up in our furs, waited patiently for the morning. About three o'clock we were called on to set out, our guides being apprehensive, that if we waited longer we might be stopped by the thaw, and neither be able to proceed nor to return. After encountering many difficulties, which were principally occasioned by the bad condition of the road, at two in the afternoon we got safe to an ostrog, called Natcheekin, situated on the side of a small stream which falls into the Bolchoireka, a little way below the town. The distance between Karatchin and Natcheekin is thirty-eight wersts (or twenty-five miles;) and had the hard frost continued, we should not, by their account, have been more than four hours in performing it; but the snow was so soft, that the dogs, almost at every step, sunk up to their bellies; and I was indeed much surprised at their being at all able to overcome the difficulties of so fatiguing a journey.

Natcheekin is a very inconsiderable ostrog, having only one log-house, the residence of the Toion; five balagans, and one jourt. We were received here with the same formalities, and in the same hospitable manner, as at Karatchin; and in the afternoon we went to visit a remarkable hot- spring, which is near this village. We saw at some distance the steam rising from it as from a boiling cauldron; and as we approached, perceived the air had a strong sulphureous smell. The main spring forms a bason of about three feet in diameter; besides which there are a number of lesser springs, of the same degree of heat, in the adjacent ground; so that the whole spot, to the extent of near an acre, was so hot, that we could not stand two minutes in the same place. The water flowing from these springs is collected in a small bathing pond, and afterwards forms a little rivulet, which, at the distance of about an hundred and fifty yards, falls into the river. The bath, they told us, had wrought great cures in several disorders, such as rheumatisms, swelled and contracted joints, and scorbutic ulcers. In the bathing place the thermometer stood at 100 deg., or blood heat; but in the spring, after being immersed two minutes, it was 1 deg. above boiling spirits. The thermometer in the air, at this time was 34 deg.; in the river 40 deg.; and in the Toion's house 64 deg.. The ground where these springs break out is on a gentle ascent; behind which there is a green hill of a moderate size. I am sorry I was not sufficiently skilled in botany to examine the plants, which seemed to thrive here with great luxuriance; the wild garlic, indeed, forced itself on our notice, and was at this time springing up very vigorously.

The next morning we embarked on the Bolchoireka in canoes; and having the stream with us, expected to be at our journey's end the day following. The town of Bolcheretsk is about eighty miles from Natcheekin; and we were informed, that, in the summer season, when the river has been full and rapid, from the melting of snow on the mountains, the canoes had often gone down in a single day; but that, in its present state, we should probably be much longer, as the ice had broken up only three days before we arrived; and that ours would be the first boat that had attempted to pass. This intelligence proved but too true. We found ourselves greatly impeded by the shallows; and though the stream in many places ran with great rapidity, yet in every half mile we had ripplings and shoals, over which we had to haul the boats.[18] The country on each side was very romantic, but unvaried; the river running between mountains of the most craggy and barren aspect, where there was nothing to diversify the scene but now and then the sight of a bear, and the flights of wild fowl. So uninteresting a passage leaves me nothing farther to say, than that this, and the following night, we slept on the banks of the river, under our marquee, and suffered very much from the severity of the weather, and the snow, which still remained on the ground.

At day-light, on the 12th, we found we had got clear of the mountains, and were entering a low extensive plain, covered with shrubby trees. About nine in the forenoon, we arrived at an ostrog, called Opatchin, which is computed to be fifty miles from Natcheekin, and is nearly of the same size as Karatchin. We found here a serjeant, with four Russian soldiers, who had been two days waiting for our arrival, and who immediately dispatched a light boat to Bolcheretsk, with intelligence of our approach. We were now put into the trammels of formality; a canoe, furnished with skins and furs, and equipped in a magnificent manner, was prepared for our reception, in which we were accommodated much at our ease, but to the exclusion of the rest of our fellow-travellers. It was with much regret we found ourselves obliged to separate from our old companion Monsieur Port, whom we had observed to grow every day more shy and distant as we drew nearer the end of our journey. Indeed, he had himself told us, before we set out, that we paid him a respect he had no title to; but as we had found him a very modest and discreet man, we had insisted on his living with us during the whole of our journey. The remainder of our passage was performed with great facility and expedition, the river growing more rapid as we descended, and less obstructed by shoals.

As we approached the capital, we were sorry to observe, from an appearance of much stir and bustle, that we were to be received in form. Decent clothes had been for some time a scarce commodity amongst us; and our travelling dresses were made up of a burlesque mixture of European, Indian, and Kamtschadale fashions. We therefore thought it would be too ridiculous to make a parade in this trim through the metropolis of Kamtschatka; and, as we saw a crowd collected on the banks of the river, and were told the commander would be at the water-side to receive us, we stopped short, at a soldier's house, about a quarter of a mile from the town, from whence we sent Port, with a message to his excellency, acquainting him, that the moment we had put off our travelling dresses, we would pay our respects to him at his own house; and to beg he would not think of waiting to conduct us. Finding, however, that he persisted in his intentions of paying us this compliment, we lost no farther time in attiring ourselves, but made all the haste in our power to join him at the entrance of the town. I observed my companions to be as awkward as I felt myself in making our first salutations; bowing and scraping being marks of good breeding, that we had now, for two years and a half, been totally unaccustomed to. The manner in which we were received by the commander, was the most engaging that could be conceived, and increased my mortification at finding that he had almost entirely forgot the French language; so that the satisfaction of conversing with him was wholly confined to Mr Webber, who spoke the German, his native tongue.

In company with Major Behm was Captain Shmaleff, the second in command, and another officer, with the whole body of the merchants of the place. They conducted us to the commander's house, where we were received by his lady with great civility, and found tea and other refreshments prepared for us. After the first compliments were over, Mr Webber was desired to acquaint the major with the object of our journey, with our want of naval stores, flour, and fresh provisions, and other necessaries for the ship's crews, and at the same time to assure him, that we were sensible, from what we had already seen of the condition of the country about Awatska Bay, we could not expect much assistance from him in that quarter; that the impossibility of sending heavy stores across the peninsula during the present season of the year, was but too apparent, from the difficulties we had met with in our journey; and that, long before any material change could take place, we should be under the necessity of proceeding on our voyage. We were here interrupted by the commander, who observed, that we did not yet know what they were capable of doing; that, at least, it was not his business to think of the difficulties of supplying our wants, but only to learn what were the articles we stood in need of, and the longest time we could allow him for procuring them. After expressing our sense of his obliging disposition, we gave him a list of our naval stores, the number of cattle, and the quantity of flour we were directed to purchase, and told him that we purposed recommencing our voyage about the 5th of June.

Our conversation afterward turned upon different subjects; and it will naturally be supposed that our enquiries were principally directed to the obtaining some information respecting our own country. Having now been absent three years, we had flattered ourselves with the certainty of receiving intelligence from Major Behm, which could not fail of being interesting; and I cannot express the disappointment we felt, on finding that he had no news to communicate of a much later date than that of our departure from England.

About seven o'clock the commander, conceiving we might be fatigued with our journey, and desirous of taking some repose, begged he might conduct us to our lodgings. It was in vain that we protested against a compliment which we had certainly no title to expect, but that of being strangers; a circumstance which seemed, in the opinion of this generous Livonian, to counterbalance every other consideration. In our way we passed by two guard-houses, where the men were turned out under arms, in compliment to Captain Gore; and were afterward brought to a very neat and decent house, which the major gave us to understand was to be our residence during our stay. Two sentinels were posted at the doors, and, in a house adjoining, there was a serjeant's guard. Having shewn us into our apartments, the major took his leave, with a promise to see us the next day: and we were left to find out at our leisure all the conveniences that he had most amply provided for us. A soldier, called a putpropersckack, whose rank is between that of a serjeant and a corporal, along with our fellow-traveller Port, were appointed to be our male domestics; besides whom, there was a housekeeper and a cook, who had orders to obey Port's directions in dressing us a supper according to our own mode of cookery. We received many civil messages in the course of the evening from the principal people of the town, purporting, that they would not add to our fatigues by paying their respects to us at that time, but would wait upon us in the morning. Such well-supported politeness and attention, in a country so desolate and uncultivated, formed a contrast exceedingly favourable to its inhabitants; and, to finish the piece as it began, at sun-set the serjeant came with the report of his guard to Captain Gore.

Early in the morning we received the compliments of the commander, of Captain Shmaleff, and of the principal inhabitants of the town, who all honoured us with visits soon after. The two first, having sent for Port, after we were gone to rest, and enquired of him what articles we seemed to be most in want of on board the ships, we found them prepared to insist on our sharing with the garrison under their command, in what little stock of provisions they had remaining. At the same time they lamented that we had arrived at a season of the year, when there was always the greatest scarcity of every thing amongst them, the sloops not being yet arrived, with their annual supply, from Okotsk.

We agreed to accept the liberality of these hospitable strangers, with the best grace we could; but on condition that we might be made acquainted with the price of the articles we were to be supplied with, and that Captain Clerke should give bills to the amount upon the Victualling Office in London. This the major positively refused; and whenever it was afterwards urged, stopped us short, by telling us, he was certain that he could not oblige his mistress more than in giving every assistance in his power to her good friends and allies the English; and that it would be a particular satisfaction to her to hear, that, in so remote a part of the world, her dominions had afforded any relief to ships engaged in such services as ours; that he could not therefore act so contrary to the character of his empress as to accept of any bills; but that to accommodate the matter, he would take a bare attestation of the particulars with which we might be furnished, and that this he should transmit to his court, as a certificate of having performed his duty. I shall leave, he continued, to the two courts all farther acknowledgments, but cannot consent to accept of any thing of the kind alluded to.

When this matter was adjusted, he began to enquire about our private wants, saying, he should consider himself as ill used if we had any dealings with the merchants, or applied to any other person except himself.

In return for such singular generosity, we had little to bestow but our admiration and our thanks. Fortunately, however, Captain Clerke had sent by me a set of prints and maps, belonging to the last voyage of Captain Cook, which he desired me to present in his name to the commander; who being an enthusiast in every thing relating to discoveries, received it with a satisfaction which shewed, that, though a trifle, nothing could have been more acceptable. Captain Clerke had likewise entrusted me with a discretionary power of shewing him a chart of the discoveries made in the present voyage; and as I judged that a person in his situation, and of his turn of mind, would be exceedingly gratified by a communication of this sort, though, out of delicacy, he had forborn to ask more than a few general questions on the subject, I made no scruple to repose in him a confidence, of which his whole conduct shewed him to be deserving.

I had the pleasure to find, that he felt this compliment as I hoped he would, and was much struck at seeing, in one view, the whole of that coast, as well on the side of Asia as on that of America, of which his countrymen had been so many years employed in acquiring a partial and imperfect knowledge.[19]

Excepting this mark of confidence, and the set of prints I have already mentioned, we had brought nothing with us that was in the least worth his acceptance; for it scarce deserves noticing, that I prevailed on his son, a young boy, to accept of a silver watch I happened to have about me; and I made his little daughter very happy with two pair of ear-rings of French paste. Besides these trifles, I left with Captain Shmaleff the thermometer I used on my journey; and he promised me, to keep an exact register of the temperature of the air for one year, and to transmit it to Mr Muller, with whom he had the pleasure of being acquainted.

We dined this day at the commander's, who, studious on every occasion to gratify our curiosity, had, besides a number of dishes dressed in our own way, prepared a great variety of others, after the Russian and Kamtschadale manner. The afternoon was employed in taking a view of the town and the adjacent country. Bolcheretsk is situated in a low swampy plain, that extends to the sea of Okotsk, being about forty miles long, and of a considerable breadth. It lies on the north side of the Bolchoireka, or great river, between the mouth of the Gottsofka and the Bistraia, which here empty themselves into this river; and the peninsula, on which it stands, has been separated from the continent by a large canal, the work of the present commander; which has not only added much to its strength as a fortress, but has made it much less liable than it was before to inundations. Below the town the river is from six to eight feet deep, and about a quarter of a mile broad. It empties itself into the sea of Okotsk, at the distance of twenty-two miles; where, according to Krascheninikoff, it is capable of admitting vessels of a considerable size. There is not corn, of any species, cultivated in this part of the country; and Major Behm informed me, that his was the only garden that had yet been planted. The ground was, for the most part, covered with snow; that which was free from it appeared full of small hillocks, of a black turfy nature. I saw about twenty or thirty cows, And the major had six stout horses. These and their dogs are the only tame animals they possess; the necessity they are under, in the present state of the country, of keeping great numbers of the latter, making it impossible to bring up any cattle that are not in size and strength a match for them. For, during the summer season, their dogs are entirely let loose, and left to provide for themselves, which makes them so exceedingly ravenous, that they will sometimes even attack the bullocks.

The houses in Bolcheretsk are all of one fashion, being built of logs, and thatched. That of the commander is much larger than the rest, consisting of three rooms of a considerable size, neatly papered, and which might have been reckoned handsome, if the talc with which the windows were covered, had not given them a poor and disagreeable appearance. The town consists of several rows of low buildings, each consisting of five or six dwellings, connected together, with a long common passage running the length of them, on one side of which is the kitchen and store-house, and on the other the dwelling apartments. Besides these are barracks for the Russian soldiers and cossacks, a well-looking church, and a court-room, and at the end of the town a great number of balagans, belonging to the Kamtschadales. The inhabitants, taken all together, amount to between five and six hundred. In the evening the major gave a handsome entertainment, to which the principal people of the town of both sexes were invited.

The next morning we applied privately to the merchant, Fedositsch, to purchase some tobacco for the sailors, who had now been upward of a twelvemonth without this favourite commodity. However, this, like all our other transactions of the same kind, came immediately to the major's knowledge; and we were soon after surprised to find in our house four bags of tobacco, weighing-upward of a hundred pounds each, which he begged might be presented, in the name of himself and the garrison under his command, to our sailors. At the same time they had sent us twenty loaves of fine sugar, and as many pounds of tea, being articles they understood we were in great want of, which they begged to be indulged in presenting to the officers. Along with these Madame Behm had also sent a present for Captain Clerke, consisting of fresh-butter, honey, figs, rice, and some other little things of the same kind, attended with many wishes that, in his infirm state of health, they might be of service to him. It was in vain we tried to oppose this profusion of bounty, which I was really anxious to restrain, being convinced that they were giving away, not a share, but almost the whole stock of the garrison. The constant answer the major returned us on those occasions was, that we had suffered a great deal, and that we must needs be in distress. Indeed the length of time we had been out since we touched at any known port, appeared to them so very incredible, that it required the testimony of our maps, and other corroborating circumstances, to gain their belief. Amongst the latter was a very curious fact which Major Behm related to us this morning, and which, he said, but for our arrival, he should have been totally at a loss to account for.

It is well known that the Tschutski are the only people of the north of Asia who have maintained their independence, and resisted all the attempts that have been made by the Russians to reduce them. The last expedition against them was undertaken in the year 1750, and terminated, after various success, in the retreat of the Russian forces, and the loss of the commanding officer. Since that time the Russians had removed their frontier fortress from the Anadir to the Ingiga, a river that empties itself into the northern extremity of the sea of Okotsk, and gives its name to a gulf situated to the west of that of Penshinsk. From this fort Major Behm had received dispatches the day of our arrival at Bolcheretsk, containing intelligence that a tribe, or party of the Tschutski, had arrived at that place with propositions of friendship, and a voluntary offer of tribute; that on enquiring into the cause of this unexpected alteration in their sentiments, they had informed his people, that toward the latter end of the last summer they had been visited by two very large Russian boats; that they had been treated by the people who were in them with the greatest kindness, and had entered into a league of friendship and amity with them; and that relying on this friendly disposition, they were now come to the Russian fort in order to settle a treaty on such terms as might be acceptable to both nations. This extraordinary history had occasioned much speculation, both at Ingiginsk and Bolcheretsk; and, had we not furnished them with a key to it, must have remained perfectly unintelligible. We felt no small satisfaction in having, though accidentally, shewn the Russians, in this instance, the only true way of collecting tribute and extending their dominions; and in the hopes that the good understanding which this event hath given rise to, may rescue a brave people from the future invasions of such powerful neighbours.

We dined this day with Captain Shmaleff, and in the afternoon, in order to vary our amusements, he treated us with an exhibition of the Russian and Kamtschadale dancing. No description can convey an adequate idea of this rude and uncouth entertainment. The figure of the Russian dance was much like those of our hornpipes, and was danced either single, or by two or four persons at a time. Their steps were, short and quick, with the feet scarce raised from the ground; the arms were fixed close to the sides, the body being all the while kept upright and immovable, excepting when the parties passed each other, at which time the hand was raised with a quick and awkward motion. But if the Russian dance was, at the same time, both unmeaning and ridiculous, the Kamtschadale joined to the latter quality the most whimsical idea that ever entered into any people's heads. It is intended to represent the awkward and clumsy gestures of the bear, which these people have frequent opportunities of observing in a great variety of situations. It will scarcely be expected that I should give a minute description of all the strange postures which were exhibited on these occasions; and I shall therefore only mention, that the body was always bowed, and the knees bent, whilst the arms were used in imitating the tricks and attitudes of that animal.

As our journey to Bolcheretsk had taken up more time than we expected, and we were told that our return might prove still more difficult and tedious, we were under the necessity of acquainting the commander this evening with our intention of setting out the next day. It was not without the utmost regret we thought of leaving our new acquaintance, and were therefore most agreeably surprised when the major told us, that if we could stay one day longer, he would accompany us. He had, he said, made up his dispatches, and resigned the command of Kamtschatka to his successor Captain Shmaleff, and had prepared every thing for his departure to Okotsk, which was to take place in a few days; but that he should feel great pleasure in putting off his journey a little longer, and returning with us to Saint Peter and Paul's, that be might himself be a witness of every thing being done for us that it was in their power to do.

In return for the few trifles I had given to the children of Major Behm, I was next morning, the 15th, presented by his little boy with a most magnificent Kamtschadale dress, which shall be described in its proper place. It was of the kind worn by the principal Toions of the country on occasions of great ceremony; and, as I was afterward told by Fedositsch, could not have been purchased for one hundred and twenty roubles. At the same time I had a present from his daughter of a handsome sable muff.

We afterward dined with the commander, who, in order to let us see as much of the manners of the inhabitants, and of the customs of the country, as our time would permit, invited the whole of the better sort of people in the village to his house this evening. All the women appeared very splendidly dressed after the Kamtschadale fashion. The Wives of Captain Shmaleff and the other officers of the garrison, were prettily dressed, half in the Siberian and half in the European mode; and Madame Behm, in order to make the strongest contrast, had unpacked part of her baggage, and put on a rich European dress. I was much struck with the richness and variety of the silks which the women wore, and the singularity of their habits. The whole was like some enchanted scene in the midst of the wildest and most dreary country in the world. Our entertainment again consisted of dancing and singing.

The next morning being fixed for our departure, we retired early to our lodgings, where the first things we saw were three travelling dresses, made after the fashion of the country, which the major had provided for us, who came himself to our house soon after, to see all our things packed up and properly taken care of. Indeed, what with his liberal presents, and the kindness of Captain Shmaleff, and many other individuals, who all begged to throw in their mite, together with the ample stock of provisions he had sent us for our journey, we had amassed no inconsiderable load of baggage.

Early in the morning, every thing being ready for our departure, we were invited to call on Madame Behm in our way to the boats, and take our leave of her. Impressed, as our minds were, with sentiments of the warmest gratitude, by the attentive, benevolent, and generous treatment we had met with at Bolcheretsk, they were greatly heightened by the affecting scene which presented itself to us on leaving our lodgings; All the soldiers and cossacks belonging to the garrison were drawn up on one hand, and the male inhabitants of the town, dressed out in their best clothes, on the other; and, as soon as we came out of the house, the whole body of the people joined in a melancholy song, which the major told us it was usual in that country to sing on taking leave of their friends. In this manner we marched down to the commander's house, preceded by the drums and music of the garrison, where we were received by Madame Behm, attended by the ladies, who were dressed in long silk cloaks, lined with very valuable furs of different colours, which made a most magnificent appearance. After partaking of some refreshment that was prepared for us, we went down to the water-side, accompanied by the ladies, who now joined the song with the rest of the inhabitants; and, as soon as we had taken leave of Madame Behm, and assured her of the grateful sense we should ever retain of the hospitality of Bolcheretsk, we found ourselves too much affected not to hasten into the boats with all the expedition we could. When we put off, the whole company gave us three cheers, which we returned from the boat; and, as we were doubling a point, where, for the last time, we saw our friendly entertainers, they took their farewell in another cheer.

We found the stream on our return so exceedingly rapid, that, notwithstanding the cossacks and Kamtschadales used their utmost exertions, we did not reach the first village, Opatchin, till the evening of the 17th, which was at the rate of about twenty miles a day. We got to Natcheekin on the 19th; and, on the 20th, we crossed the plain to Karatchin. We found the road much better than when we had passed it before, there having been a smart frost on the night of the 19th. On the 21st, we proceeded down the Awatska river; and, before it was dark, got over the shoals which lie at the entrance of the bay. During the whole course of our journey we were much pleased with the great good-will with which the Toions and their Kamtschadales afforded us their assistance at the different ostrogs through which we passed; and I could not but observe the pleasure that appeared in their countenances on seeing the major, and their strong expressions of sorrow, on hearing he was so soon going to leave them.

We had dispatched a messenger to Captain Clerke from Bolcheretsk, with an account of our reception, and of the major's intention of returning with us, at the same time apprising him of the day he might probably expect to see us. We were therefore very well pleased to observe, as we approached the harbour, all the boats of the two ships coming towards us, the men clean, and the officers as well dressed as the scarcity of our clothing would permit. The major was much struck at the robust and healthy appearance of the boats' crews, and still more at seeing most of them without any other covering than a shirt and trowsers, although at the very moment it actually snowed.

As Major Behm had expressed his intentions of visiting the ships before he landed, as soon as we arrived off the town, I desired to receive his commands; when remarking, that from the account we had given of the very bad state of Captain Clerke's health, it might be imprudent to disturb him at so late an hour, (it being now past nine o'clock,) he thought it, he said, most advisable to remain that night on shore. Accordingly, after attending him to the serjeant's house, I took my leave for the present, and went on board to acquaint Captain Clerke with my proceedings at Bolcheretsk. It was with the utmost concern I found, that, in the fortnight we had been absent, this excellent officer was much altered for the worse, instead of reaping that advantage we flattered ourselves he might from the repose of the harbour, and the milk and vegetable diet with which he was supplied.

As soon as I had dispatched this business, I returned to the major, and the next morning conducted him to the ships; where, on his arrival, he was saluted with thirteen guns, and received with every other mark of distinction that it was in our power to pay him. He was attended by the commander of one of the Russian galliots, the master of a sloop that lay in the harbour, two merchants from Bolcheretsk, and the priest of the neighbouring village of Paratounca, for whom he appeared to entertain the highest respect, and whom I shall hereafter have occasion to mention, on account of his great kindness to Captain Clerke.

After visiting the captain, and taking a view of both the ships, he returned to dinner on board the Resolution; and, in the afternoon, the various curiosities we had collected in the course of our voyage were shewn him, and a complete assortment of every article presented to him by Captain Clerke. On this occasion I must not pass over an instance of great generosity and gratitude in the sailors of both ships; who, when they were told of the handsome present of tobacco that was made them by the major, desired, entirely of their own accord, that their grog might be stopped, and their allowance of spirits presented, on their part, to the garrison of Bolcheretsk, as they said they had reason to conclude that brandy was scarce in the country, and would be very acceptable to them, since the soldiers on shore had offered four roubles a bottle for it. We, who knew how much the sailors always felt whenever their allowance of grog was stopped, which was generally done in warm weather, that they might have it in a greater proportion in cold, and that this offer would deprive them of it during the inclement season we had to expect in our next expedition to the north, could not but admire so extraordinary a sacrifice; and, that they might not suffer by it, Captain Clerke, and the rest of the officers, substituted in the room of the very small quantity the major could be prevailed on to accept, the same quantity of rum. This, with a dozen or two of Cape wine, for Madame Behm, and such other little presents as were in our power to bestow, were accepted in the most obliging manner. The next morning the tobacco was divided between the crews of the two ships, three pounds being allotted to every man that chewed or smoked tobacco, and one pound to those that did not.

I have before mentioned that Major Behm had resigned the command of Kamtschatka, and intended to set out in, a short time for Petersburg; and he now offered to charge himself with any dispatches we might trust to his care. This was an opportunity not to be neglected, and accordingly Captain Clerke acquainted him, that he would take the liberty of sending by him some papers relating to our voyage, to be delivered to our ambassador at the Russian court. Our first intentions were to send only a small journal of our proceedings; but, afterward, Captain Clerke being persuaded that the whole account of our discoveries might safely be trusted to a person who had given such striking proofs both of his public and private virtues; and considering that we had a very hazardous part of the voyage still to undertake, determined to send by him the whole of the journal of our late commander, with that part of his own which completed the period of Captain Cook's death till our arrival at Kamtschatka, together with a chart of all our discoveries. Mr Bayly and myself thought it also proper to send a general account of our proceedings to the Board of Longitude; by which precautions, if any misfortune had afterward befallen us, the Admiralty would have been in possession of a complete history of the principal facts of our voyage. It was also determined that a smaller packet should be sent by an express from Okotsk, which, the major said, if he was fortunate in his passage to that port, would reach Petersburg by December, and that he himself should be there in February or March.

During the three following days the major was entertained alternately in the two ships in the best manner we were able. On the 25th he took his leave, and was saluted with thirteen guns; and the sailors, at their own desire, gave him three cheers. The next morning, Mr Webber and myself attended him a few miles up the Awatska river, where we met the Russian priest, his wife and children, who were waiting to take the last farewell of their commander.

It was hard to say, whether the good priest and his family, or ourselves, were most affected on taking leave of Major Behm. Short as our acquaintance had been, his noble and disinterested conduct had inspired us with the highest respect and esteem for him; and we could not part with a person to whom we were under such obligations, and whom we had little prospect of ever seeing again, without feeling the most tender concern. The intrinsic value of the private presents we received from him, exclusive of the stores which might be carried to a public account, must have amounted, according to the current price of articles in that country, to upward of two hundred pounds. But this generosity, extraordinary as it must appear in itself, was exceeded by the delicacy with which all his favours were conferred, and the artful manner in which he endeavoured to prevent our feeling the weight of obligations, which he knew we had no means of requiting. If we go a step further, and consider him as supporting a public character, and maintaining the honour of a great sovereign, we shall find a still higher subject of admiration, in the just and enlarged sentiments by which he was actuated. "The service in which you are employed," he would often say, "is for the general advantage of mankind, and therefore gives you a right, not merely to the offices of humanity, but to the privileges of citizens, in whatever country you may be thrown. I am sure I am acting agreeably to the wishes of my mistress, in affording you all the relief in our power; and I cannot forget either her character, or my own honour, so much, as to barter for the performance of my duty." At other times he would tell us, that he was particularly desirous of setting a good example to the Kamtschadales, who, he said, were but just emerging from a state of barbarism; that they looked up to the Russians as their patterns in every thing; and that he had hopes they might in future look upon it as a duty incumbent upon them to assist strangers to the utmost of their power, and believe that such was the universal practice of civilized nations. To all this must be added, that after having relieved, to the utmost of his abilities, all our present distresses, he shewed himself not much less mindful of our future wants; and as he supposed it more than probable we should not discover the passage we were in search of, and therefore should return to Kamtschatka in the fall of the year, he made Captain Clerke give him a list of what cordage and flour we should want, and promised they should be sent from Okotsk, and wait our arrival. For the same purpose, he gave Captain Clerke a paper, enjoining all the subjects of the empress, whom we might happen to meet, to give us every assistance in their power.[20]

[15] Mr Dugald Stewart has not neglected to avail himself of this incident, to illustrate his observations on the power which certain perceptions or impressions on the senses possess to awaken associations.—E.

[16] Even so lately as Captain Krusenstern's visit, the number of horned cattle at Saint Peter and Saint Paul's amounted to no more than ten cows and as many young heifers; of course, he remarks, there was no butter, and very little milk. But it is his opinion, that it would be extremely easy to support some hundred head there, as the place abounds in the finest grass. Elsewhere he informs us, that it is calculated there are about six hundred cattle in the whole of Kamtschatka; a number which, for obvious reasons, he thinks may and ought to be increased.—E.

[17] Extraordinary as this may appear, Krascheninikoff, whose account of Kamtschatka, from every thing that I saw, and had an opportunity of comparing it with, seems to me to deserve entire credit, and whose authority I shall, therefore, frequently have recourse to, relates instances of this kind that are much more surprising. "Travelling parties," says he, "are often overtaken with dreadful storms of snow, on the approach of which they drive with the utmost precipitation into the nearest wood, and there are obliged to stay till the tempest, which frequently lasts six or seven days, is over; the dogs remaining all this while quiet and inoffensive; except that sometimes, when prest by hunger, they will devour the reins and the other leathern parts of the harness."—History and Description of Kamtschatka, by Krascheninikof.

[18] Captain King does not seem to have heard or inferred any thing as to the danger usually encountered in the summer excursions on the river, from the nature of the vessels employed. This, according to Krusenstern, infinitely more resembles a trough than a boat, being, in fact, the hollow trunk of a tree, and exceedingly apt to be upset by the rapidity of the stream. Thus, he says, scarcely a year passes in which several people are not drowned, both in the Kamtschatka river and the Awatscha; a serious loss any where, no doubt; but in this country, where population is so scanty, and so uncertain, incomparably more important in a political point of view.—E.

[19] On this occasion Major Behm permitted us to examine all the maps and charts that were in his possession. Those relating to the peninsula of the Tschutski, were made in conformity to the information collected by Plenishner, between the years 1760 and 1770. As the charts of Plenishner were afterwards made use of, according to Mr Coxe, in the compilation of the General Map of Russia, published by the Academy in 1776, it may be necessary to observe, that we found them exceedingly erroneous; and that the compilers of the General Map seem to have been led into some mistakes on his authority. Those in which the islands on the coast of America were laid down, we found to contain nothing new, and to be much less accurate than those we saw at Oonalashka.

[20] The reader need scarcely be reminded, that mention is made in the introduction to this voyage, of an honourable testimony of British gratitude for the extraordinary services of this generous man. Of his subsequent history, we regret to say, we are entirely ignorant.—E.



SECTION III.

Continuation of Transactions in the Harbour of St Peter and St Paul.—Abundance of Fish.—Death of a Seaman belonging to the Resolution.—The Russian Hospital put under the Care of the Ship's Surgeons.—Supply of Flour and Cattle.—Celebration of the King's Birth-day.—Difficulties in Sailing out of the Bay.—Eruption of a Volcano.—Steer to the Northward.—Cheepoonskoi Noss.—Errors of the Russian Charts.—Kamptschatskoi Noss.—Island of St Laurence.—View, from the same Point, of the Coasts of Asia and America, and the Islands of St Diomede.—Various Attempts to get to the North, between the two Continents.—Obstructed by Impenetrable Ice.—Sea-horses and White Bears killed.—Captain Clerke's Determination and future Designs.

Having concluded the last section with an account of our return from Bolcheretsk, accompanied by Major Behm, the commander of Kamtschatka, and of his departure, I shall proceed to relate the transactions that passed in the harbour of St Peter and St Paul during our absence. On the 7th of May, soon after we had left the bay, a large piece of ice drove across the cut- water of the Resolution, and brought home the small bower-anchor. This obliged them to weigh the other anchor, and moor again. The carpenters who were employed in stopping the leak, were obliged to take off a great part of the sheathing from the bows, and found many of the trunnels so very loose and rotten, as to be easily drawn out with the fingers.

On the 11th, they had heavy gales from the N.E., which obliged both the ships to strike yards and topmasts; but in the afternoon the weather being more moderate, and the ice having drifted away as far as the mouth of the harbour of St Peter and St Paul, they warped close to the shore for the greater convenience, of watering and wooding, and again moored as before; the town bearing N. 1/2 W., half a mile distant, and the mouth of the bay shut in by the southernmost point of Rakowina harbour, S.

The next day a party was sent on shore to cut wood, but made little progress on account of the snow, which still covered the ground. A convenient spot was cleared away abreast of the ships, where there was a fine run of water; and a tent being erected for the cooper, the empty casks were landed, and the sail-makers sent on shore.

On the 15th, the beach being clear of ice, the people were sent to haul the seine, and caught an abundant supply of fine flat fish for both the ships' companies. Indeed from this time, during the whole of our stay in the harbour, we were absolutely overpowered with the quantities of fish which came in from every quarter. The Toions, both of this town, and of Paratounca, a village in the neighbourhood, had received orders from Major Behm to employ all the Kamtschadales in our service; so that we frequently could not take into the ships the presents that were sent us. They consisted in general of fish, cod, trout, and herring. These last, which were in their full perfection, and of a delicious flavour, were exceedingly abundant in this bay. The Discovery's people surrounded at one time so great a quantity in their seine, that they were obliged to throw a vast number out, lest the net should be broken to pieces; and the cargo they landed was afterward so plentiful, that besides a sufficient store for immediate use, they filled as many casks as they could spare for salting; and after sending to the Resolution a sufficient quantity for the same purpose, they left several bushels behind on the beach.

The snow now began to disappear very rapidly, and abundance of wild garlic, celery, and nettle-tops, were gathered for the use of the crews; which being boiled with wheat and portable soup, made them a wholesome and comfortable breakfast; and with this they were supplied every morning. The birch-trees were also tapped, and the sweet juice, which they yielded in great quantities, was constantly mixed with the men's allowance of brandy.

The next day a small bullock, which had been procured for the ship's company by the serjeant, was killed; and weighed two hundred and seventy- two pounds. It was served out to both crews for their Sunday's dinner, being the first piece of fresh beef they had tasted since our departure from the Cape of Good Hope, in December 1776, a period of near two years and a half.

This evening died John Macintosh, the carpenter's mate, after having laboured under a dysentery ever since our departure from the Sandwich islands; he was a very hard working quiet man, and much regretted by his messmates. He was the fourth person we lost by sickness during the voyage; but the first who could be said, from his age and the constitutional habits of his body, to have had on our setting out an equal chance with the rest of his comrades; Watman, we supposed to be about sixty years of age, and Roberts and Mr Anderson, from the decay which had evidently commenced before we left England, could not, in all probability, under any circumstances, have lived a greater length of time than they did.

I have already mentioned, that Captain Clerke's health continued daily to decline, notwithstanding the salutary change of diet which the country of Kamtschatka afforded him. The priest of Paratounca, as soon as he heard of the infirm state he was in, supplied him every day with bread, milk, fresh butter, and fowls, though his house was sixteen miles from the harbour where we lay.

On our first arrival, we found the Russian hospital, which is near the town of St Peter and St Paul, in a condition truly deplorable. All the soldiers were, more or less, affected by the scurvy, and a great many in the last stage of that disorder. The rest of the Russian inhabitants were also in the same condition; and we particularly remarked, that our friend the serjeant, by making too free with the spirits we gave him, had brought on himself, in the course of a few days, some of the most alarming symptoms of that malady. In this lamentable state, Captain Clerke put them all under the care of our surgeons, and ordered a supply of sourkrout, and malt, for wort, to be furnished for their use. It was astonishing to observe the alteration in the figures of almost every person we met on our return from Bolcheretsk; and I was informed by our surgeons, that they attributed their speedy recovery principally to the effects of the sweetwort.[21]

On the 1st of June we got on board two hundred and fifty poods, or nine thousand pound weight of rye-flour, with which we were supplied from the stores of St Peter and St Paul; and the Discovery had a proportional quantity. The men were immediately put on full allowance of bread, which they had not been indulged in since our leaving the Cape of Good Hope. The same day our watering was completed, having got on board sixty-five tons.

On the 4th we had fresh breezes and hard rain, which disappointed us in our design of dressing the ships, and obliged us to content ourselves with firing twenty-one guns in honour of the day, and celebrating it in other respects in the best manner we were able. Port, who was left with us on account of his skill in languages, behaved himself with so much modesty and discretion, that as soon as his master was gone, he was no longer Jean Port, but Monsieur Port, the interpreter; and partook, as well as the serjeant (in his capacity of commander of the place), of the entertainment of the day. Our worthy friend, the priest of Paratounca, having got intelligence of its being our king's birth-day, gave also a sumptuous feast; at which some of our gentlemen were present, who seemed highly delighted with their entertainment, which consisted of abundance of good eating and drinking, together with dancing.

On the 6th, twenty head of cattle were sent us by the commander's orders, from the Verchnei ostrog, which is situated on the river Kamtschatka, at the distance of near a hundred miles from this place, in a direct line. They were of a moderate size; and, notwithstanding the Kamtschadales had been seventeen days in driving them down to the harbour, arrived in good condition. The four following days were employed in making ready for sea; and on the 11th, at two in the morning, we began to unmoor; but before we had got one anchor up, it blew so strong a gale from the N.E., that we kept fast, and moored again; conjecturing, from the position of the entrance of the bay, that the current of wind would set up the channel. Accordingly, the pinnace being sent out to examine the passage, returned with an account, that the wind blew strong from the S.E., with a great swell setting into the bay, which would have made any attempt to get to sea very hazardous.

Our friend Port now took his leave of us, and carried with him the box with our Journals, which was to go by the major, and the packet that was to be sent express. On the 12th, the weather being more moderate, we began to unmoor again; but, after breaking the messenger, and reeving a running purchase with a six-inch hawser, which also broke three times, we were obliged at last to heave a strain at low water, and wait for the flowing of the tide to raise the anchor. This project succeeded; but not without damaging the cable in the wake of the hawse. At three we weighed the best bower, and set sail; and at eight having little wind, and the tide making against us, we dropped anchor again in ten fathoms, off the mouth of Rakowina harbour; the ostrog bearing N. by E. 1/2 E., two miles and a half distant; the Needle Rocks on the east side of the passage, S.S.E. 1/2 E.; and the high rock, on the west side of the passage, S.

On the 13th, at four in the morning, we got under way with the ebb tide; and there being a dead calm, the boats were sent ahead to tow the ships. At ten the wind springing up from the S.E. by S., and the tide having turned, we were again obliged to drop anchor in seven fathoms; the Three Needle Rocks bearing S. 1/2 E.; and the ostrog N. 1/2 E., at the distance of one mile from the nearest land. After dinner I went with Captain Gore on shore on the east side of the passage, where we saw, in two different places, the remains of extensive villages; and on the side of the hill an old ruined parapet, with four or five embrasures. It commanded the passage up the mouth of the bay; and in Beering's time, as he himself mentions, had guns mounted on it. Near this place were the ruins of some caverns under ground, which we supposed to have been magazines.

At six in the afternoon we weighed with the ebb tide, and turned to windward; but at eight a thick fog arising, we were obliged to bring-to, as our soundings could not afford us a sufficient direction for steering between several sunk rocks, which lie on each side of the passage we had to make. In the morning of the 14th, the fog clearing away, we weighed as soon as the tide began to ebb, and having little wind, sent the boats ahead to tow; but at ten o'clock, both the wind and tide set in so strong from the sea, that we were again obliged to drop anchor in thirteen fathoms, the high rock bearing W. 1/4 S., distant three quarters of a mile. We remained fast for the rest of the day, the wind blowing fresh into the mouth of the bay; and toward evening, the weather had a very unusual appearance, being exceedingly dark and cloudy, with an unsettled shifting wind.

Before day-light, on the 15th, we were surprised with a rumbling noise, resembling distant hollow thunder; and when the day broke, we found the decks and sides of the ships covered with a fine dust like emery, near an inch thick. The air at the same time continued loaded and darkened with this substance, and toward the volcano mountain, situated to the north of the harbour, it was so thick and black, that we could not distinguish the body of the hill. About twelve o'clock, and during the afternoon, the explosions became louder, and were followed by showers of cinders, which were in general about the size of peas; though many were picked up from the deck larger than a hazel-nut. Along with the cinders fell several small stones, which had undergone no change from the action of fire. In the evening we had dreadful thunder and lightning, which, with the darkness of the atmosphere, and the sulphureous smell of the air, produced altogether a most awful and terrifying effect. We were at this time about eight leagues from the foot of the mountain.

On the 16th, at day-light, we again weighed anchor, and stood out of the bay; but the ebb tide setting across the passage upon the eastern shore, and the wind falling, we were driven very near the Three Needle Rocks, which lie on that side of the entrance, and obliged to hoist out the boats, in order to tow the ships clear of them. At noon we were two leagues from the land, and had soundings with forty-three fathoms of line, over a bottom of small stones, of the same kind with those which fell on our decks after the eruption of the volcano; but whether they had been, left there by the last, or by some former eruptions, we were not able to determine.

The aspect of the country was now very different from what it had been on our first arrival. The snow, excepting what remained on the tops of some very high mountains, had disappeared; and the sides of the hills, which in many parts were well wooded, were covered with a beautiful verdure.

As it was Captain Clerke's intention to keep as much in sight of the coast of Kamtschatka as the weather would permit, in order to determine its position, we continued steering to the N.N.E, with light and variable winds till the 18th. The volcano was still seen throwing up immense volumes of smoke, and we had no soundings with one hundred and fifty fathoms, at the distance of four leagues from the shore.

On the 18th, the wind freshening from the south, the weather became so thick and hazy, as to make it imprudent to attempt any longer to keep in sight of the land. But that we might be ready to resume our survey, whenever the fogs should disperse, we ran on in the direction of the coast, as laid down in the Russian charts, and fired signal guns for the Discovery to steer the same course. At eleven o'clock, just before we lost sight of the land, Cheepoonskoi Noss, so called by the Russians, (a description of which, as well as the coast between it and Awatska Bay, will be given, hereafter), bore N.N.E., distant seven or eight leagues.

On the 20th, at three in the morning, the weather having cleared up, we stood in toward the land; and in an hour's time saw it ahead, extending from N.W. to N.N.E., distant about five leagues. The north part we took to be Kronotskoi Noss; its position in the Russian charts agreeing nearly with our reckoning as to its latitude, which was 54 deg. 42'; but in longitude we differed from them considerably, they placing it 1 deg. 48' E. of Awatska; whereas our reckoning, corrected by the time-keepers and lunar observations, makes it 3 deg. 34' eastward of that place, or 162 deg. 17' E. from Greenwich. The land about this cape is very high, and the inland mountains were still covered with snow. The shore breaks off in steep cliffs, and the coast is without appearance of inlets or bays. We had not been long gratified with this sight of the land, when the Wind freshened from the S.W., and brought on a thick fog, which obliged us to stand off to the N.E.by E. The weather clearing up again at noon, we steered toward the land, expecting to fall in with Kamtschatskoi Noss, and had sight of it at day-break of the 21st.

The southerly wind was soon after succeeded by a light breeze blowing off the land, which prevented our approaching the coast sufficiently near to describe its aspect, or ascertain with accuracy its direction. At noon our latitude, by observation, was 55 deg. 52', and longitude (deduced from a comparison of many lunar observations, taken near this time, with the time- keepers), 163 deg. 50'; the extremities of the land bearing N.W. by W. 3/4 W., and N. by W. 3/4 W., the nearest part about eight leagues distant. At nine o'clock in the evening, having approached about two leagues nearer the coast, we found it formed a projecting peninsula, extending about twelve leagues in a direction nearly north and south. It is level, and of a moderate height, the southern extremity terminating in a low sloping point; that to the north forming a steep bluff head; and between them, about four leagues to the southward of the northern cape, there is a considerable break in the land. On each side of this break the land is quite low; beyond the opening rises a remarkable saddle-like hill; and a chain of high mountains, covered with snow, ranges along the back of the whole peninsula.

As the coast runs in an even direction, we were at a great loss where to place Kamtschatskoi Noss, which, according to Muller, forms a projecting point about the middle of the peninsula, and which certainly does not exist; but I have since found, that in the general map published by the Academy of Petersburgh in 1776, that name is given to the southern cape. This was found, by several accurate observations, to be in latitude 56 deg. 3', longitude 163 deg. 20'; the difference, in longitude, from the Russian charts, being the same as at Kronotskoi Noss. The variation of the compass at this time was 10 deg. E. To the southward of this peninsula, the great river Kamtschatka falls into the sea.

As the season was too far advanced to admit of our making an accurate survey of the coast of Kamtschatka, it was Captain Clerke's plan, in our run to Beering'a Strait, to determine principally the positions of the projecting points of the coast. We therefore directed our course across an extensive bay, laid down between Kamtschatskoi Noss and Olutorskoi Noss, intending to make the latter; which, according to the Russian geographers, terminates the peninsula called Kamtschatka, and becomes the southern boundary of the Koriaki country.

On the 22d we passed a dead whale, which emitted a horrid stench, perceivable at upward of a league's distance; it was covered with a great number of sea-birds, that were feasting on it.

On the 24th, the wind, which had varied round the compass the three preceding days, fixed at S.W., and brought clear weather, with which we continued our course to the N.E. by N. across the bay, without any land in sight.

This day we saw a great number of gulls, and were witnesses to the disgusting mode of feeding of the arctic gull, which has procured it the name of the parasite; and which, if the reader is not already acquainted with it, he will find in the note below.[22]

On the 25th, at one o'clock in the afternoon, being in latitude 59 deg. 12', longitude 168 deg. 35', the wind freshening from the same quarter, a thick fog succeeded; and this unfortunately just at the time we expected to see Olutorskoi Noss, which, if Muller places it right in latitude 59 deg. 3O', and in longitude 167 deg.36', could only have then been twelve leagues from us; at which distance, land of a moderate height might easily have been seen. But if the same error in longitude prevails here, which we have hitherto invariably found, it would have been much nearer us, even before the fog came on; and as we saw no appearances of land at that time, it must either have been very low, or there must be some mistake of latitude in Muller's account. We tried soundings, but had no ground with one hundred and sixty fathoms of line.

The weather still thickening, and preventing a nearer approach to the land, at five we steered E. by N., which is somewhat more easterly than the Russian charts lay down the trending of the coast from Olutorskoi Noss. The next day we had a fresh gale from the S.W., which lasted till the 27th at noon, when the fogs clearing away, we stood to the northward, in order to make the land. The latitude at noon, by observation, was 59 deg. 49', longitude 175 deg. 43'. Notwithstanding we saw shags in the forenoon, which are supposed never to go far from land, yet there was no appearance of it this day; but on the 28th, at six in the morning, we got sight of it to the N.W. The coast shews itself in hills of a moderate height; but inland, others are seen to rise considerably. We could observe no wood, and the snow lying upon them in patches, gave the whole a very barren appearance. At nine we were about ten miles from the shore, the southern extremity bearing W. by S., six leagues distant, beyond which the coast appeared to trend to the westward. This point being in latitude 61 deg. 48', longitude 174 deg., 48', lies, according to the Russian charts, near the mouth of the river Opuka. At the same time the northern extreme bore N. by W.; between which and a hill bearing N.W. by W. 1/4 W., and at this distance appearing to us like an island, the coast seemed to bend to the westward, and form a deep bay.

About eight miles from land, we perceived ourselves in a strong rippling; and being apprehensive of foul ground, we bore away to the N.E., along the shore; notwithstanding, on heaving the lead, we found regular soundings of twenty-four fathoms, over a gravelly bottom; from whence we concluded, that this appearance was occasioned by a tide, at that time running to the southward. At noon, the extremes of the land bearing W.S.W. 3/4 W., and N.N.E. 3/4 E., distant from the nearest shore four leagues, we were abreast of the low land, which we now perceived to join the two points, where we had before expected to find a deep bay. The coast bends a little to the westward, and has a small inlet, which may probably be the mouth of some trifling stream. Our latitude, by observation, was 61 deg. 56', and longitude 175 deg. 43', and the variation of the compass 17 deg. 30' E.

We continued during the afternoon to run along the shore, at the distance of four or five leagues, with a moderate westerly breeze, carrying regular soundings from twenty-eight to thirty-six fathoms. The coast presented the same barren aspect as to the southward; the hills rising considerably inland, but to what height, the clouds on their tops put it out of our power to determine. At eight in the evening, land was thought to have been seen to the E. by N., on which, we steered to the southward of E.; but it turned out to be only a fog-bank. At midnight, the extreme point bearing N.E. 1/4 E., we supposed it to be Saint Thadeus's Noss; to the southward of which the land trends to the westward, and forms a deep bight, wherein, according to the Russian charts, lies the river Katirka.

On the 29th, the weather was unsettled and variable, with the wind from the N.E. At noon of the 30th, our latitude, by observation, was 61 deg. 48', and longitude 180 deg. 0'; at which time Saint Thadeus's Noss bore N.N.W., twenty- three leagues distant, and beyond it we observed the coast stretching almost directly N. The most easterly point of the Noss is in latitude 62 deg. 50', and longitude 179 deg. 0', being 3-1/2 deg. more to the E. than what the Russians make it. The land about it must be of a considerable height, from its being seen at so great a distance. During the two last days, we saw numbers of whales, large seals, and sea-horses; also gulls, sea-parrots, and albatrosses. We took the advantage of a little calm weather to try for fish, and caught abundance of fine cod. The depth of water from sixty-five to seventy-five fathoms.

On the 1st of July at noon, Mr Bligh having moored a small keg with the deep-sea lead, in seventy-five fathoms, found the ship made a course N. by E., half a mile an hour. This he attributed to the effect of a long southerly swell, and not to that of any current. The wind freshening from the S.E. toward evening, we shaped our course to the N.E. by E., for the point called in Beering's chart Tschukotskoi Noss, which we had observed on the 4th of September last year, at the same time that we saw, to the S E., the island of Saint Laurence. This cape, and Saint Thadeus's Noss, form the N.E. and S.W. extremities of the large and deep gulph of Anadir, into the bottom of which the river of that name empties itself, dividing as it passes the country of the Koriacs from that of the Tschutski.

On the 3d at noon, the latitude, by observation, was 63 deg. 33', and the longitude 186 deg. 45'; half an hour after which we got sight of the Tschukotskoi Noss, bearing N. 1/2 W., thirteen or fourteen leagues distant; and at five in the afternoon saw the island of Saint Laurence, bearing E. 3/4 N.; and another island a little to the eastward of it, which we supposed to be between Saint Laurence and Anderson's Island, about six leagues E.S.E. of the former. As we had no certain accounts of this island, Captain Clerke was desirous of a nearer prospect, and immediately hauled the wind toward it; but unfortunately we were not able to weather the island of Saint Laurence, and were therefore under the necessity of bearing up again, and passing them all to the leeward.

We had a better opportunity of settling the longitude of the island Saint Laurence, when we last saw it than now. But seeing it at that time but once, and to the southward, we could only determine its latitude so far as we could judge of distances; whereas now the noon observations enabled us to ascertain it correctly, which is 63 deg. 47'. Its longitude was found to be 188 deg. 15' as before. This island, if its boundaries were at this time within our view, is about three leagues in circuit. The north part may be seen at the distance of ten or twelve leagues; but as it falls in lowland to the south-east, the extent of which we could not see, some of us conjectured that it might probably be joined to the land to the eastward of it; this, however, the haziness of the weather prevented our ascertaining. These islands, as well as the land about the Tschukotskoi Noss, were covered with snow, and presented us with a most dreary picture. At midnight, Saint Laurence bore S.S.E., five or six miles distant; and our depth of water was eighteen fathoms. We were accompanied by various kinds of sea-fowl, and saw several small crested hawks.

The weather still continuing to thicken, we lost all sight of land till the 5th, when it appeared both to the N.E. and N.W, Our latitude, by account, was at this time 65 deg. 24', longitude 189 deg. 14'. As the islands of Saint Diomede, which lie between the two continents in Beering's strait, were determined by us last year to be in latitude 65 deg. 48', we could not reconcile the land to the N.E., with the situation of these islands. We therefore stood toward the land till three in the afternoon, when we were within four miles of it, and finding it to be two islands, were pretty well satisfied of their being the same; but the weather still continuing hazy, to make sure of our situation, we stood over to the coast of Asia till seven in the evening; at which time we were within two or three leagues of the east cape of that continent.

This cape is a high round head of land, extending four or five miles from north to south, forming a peninsula, and connected with the continent by a narrow neck of low land. Its shore is bold, and off its north part are three high, detached, spiral rocks. At this time it was covered with snow, and the beach surrounded with ice. We were now convinced, that we had been under the influence of a strong current, setting to the north, that had caused an error in our latitude at noon of twenty miles. In passing this strait the last year, we had experienced the same effect.

Being at length sure of our position, we held on to the N. by E. At ten at night the weather becoming clear, we had an opportunity of seeing, at the same moment, the remarkable peaked hill, near Cape Prince of Wales, on the coast of America, and the east cape of Asia, with the two connecting islands of Saint Diomede between them.[23]

At noon on the 6th, the latitude, by account, was 67 deg. N., and the longitude 191 deg. 6' E. Having already passed a considerable number of large masses of ice, and observed that it still adhered in several places to the shore on the continent of Asia, we were not much surprised to fall in, at three in the afternoon, with an extensive body of it, stretching away to the westward. This sight gave great discouragement to our hopes of advancing much farther northward this year, than we had done the preceding.

Having little wind in the afternoon, we hoisted out the boats in pursuit of the sea-horses, which were in great numbers on the detached pieces of ice; but they soon returned without success; these animals being exceedingly shy, and before they could come within gun-shot always making their retreat into the water.

At seven in the evening we hoisted in the boats, and the wind freshening from the southward, we stood on to the N.E., with a view of exploring the continent of America, between the latitudes of 68 deg. and 69 deg., which, owing to the foggy weather last year, we had not been able to examine. In this attempt we were again in part disappointed. For on the 7th, at six in the morning, we were stopped by a large field of ice, stretching from N.W. to S.E.; but soon after, the horizon becoming clear, we had sight of the coast of America, at about ten leagues distance, extending from N.E. by E. to E., and lying, by observation, between the 68 deg. and 68 deg. 20' of latitude. As the weather was clear, and the ice not high, we were enabled to see over a great extent of it. The whole presented a solid and compact surface, not in the smallest degree thawed; and appeared to us likewise to adhere to the land.

The weather soon after changing to hazy, we saw no more of the land; and there not remaining a possibility of approaching nearer to it, we stood to the N.N.W., keeping the ice close on board, and got round its western extremity by noon, when we found it trending nearly N. Our latitude at this time was, by account, 68 deg. 22', and longitude 192 deg. 34'. We continued our course to the N.N.E., along the edge of the ice, during the remaining part of the day, passing through many loose pieces that had been broken, off from the main body, and against which, notwithstanding all our caution, the ships were driven with great violence. At eight o'clock in the evening, we passed some drift-wood; and at midnight the wind shifted to the N.W., the thermometer fell from 38 deg. to 31', and we had continued showers of snow and sleet.

On the 8th at five in the morning, the wind coming still more to the northward, we could no longer keep on the same tack, on account of the ice, but were obliged to stand to the westward. At this time our soundings had decreased to nineteen fathoms, from which, on comparing it with our observations on the depth of water last year, we concluded that we were not at a greater distance from the American shore than six or seven leagues; but our view was confined within a much shorter compass, by a violent fall of snow. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69 deg. 21', longitude 192 deg. 42'. At two in the afternoon the weather cleared up, and we found ourselves close to an expanse of what appeared from the deck solid ice; but, from the mast-head, it was discovered to be composed of huge compact bodies, close and united toward the outer edge, but in the interior parts several pieces were seen floating in vacant spaces of the water. It extended from N.E. by the N. to W.S.W. We bore away by the edge of it to the southward, that we might get into clearer water; for the strong northerly winds had drifted down such quantities of loose pieces, that we had been for some time surrounded by them, and could not avoid striking against several, notwithstanding we reefed the topsails, and stood under an easy sail.

On the 9th we had a fresh gale from the N.N.W., with heavy showers of snow and sleet. The thermometer was in the night time 28 deg., and at noon 30 deg.. We continued to steer W.S.W., as before, keeping as near the large body of ice as we could, and had the misfortune to rub off some of the sheathing from the bows against the drift pieces, and to damage the cutwater. Indeed, the shocks we could not avoid receiving, were frequently so severe, as to be attended with considerable danger. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69 deg. 12',. and longitude 188 deg. 5'. The variation in the afternoon was found to be 29 deg. 30' E.

As we had now sailed near forty leagues to the westward, along the edge of the ice, without seeing any opening, or a clear sea to the northward beyond it, and had therefore no prospect of advancing farther N. for the present, Captain Clerke resolved to bear away to the S. by E. (the only quarter that was clear), and to wait till the season was more advanced, before he made any farther efforts to penetrate through the ice. The intermediate time he proposed to spend in examining the bay of Saint Laurence, and the coast to the southward of it; as a harbour so near, in case of future damage from the ice, would be very desirable. We also wished to pay another visit to our Tschutski friends; and particularly since the accounts we had heard of them from the commander of Kamtschatka.

We therefore stood on to the southward, till the noon of the 10th, at which time we passed great quantities of drift-ice, and the wind fell to a perfect calm. The latitude, by observation, was 68 deg. 1', longitude 188 deg. 30'. We passed several whales in the forenoon, and in the afternoon hoisted out the boats, and sent them in pursuit of the sea-horses, which were in great numbers on the pieces of ice that surrounded us. Our people were more successful than they had been before, returning with three large ones and a young one; besides killing and wounding several others. The gentlemen who went on this party were witnesses of several remarkable instances of parental affection in those animals. On the approach of our boats toward the ice, they all took their cubs under their fins, and endeavoured to escape with them into the sea. Several, whose young were killed or wounded, and left floating on the surface, rose again, and carried them down, sometimes just as our people were going to take them up into the boat; and might be traced bearing them to a great distance through the water, which was coloured with their blood; we afterward observed them bringing them at times above the surface, as if for air, and again diving under it with a dreadful bellowing. The female, in particular, whose young had been destroyed, and taken into the boat, became so enraged, that she attacked the cutter, and struck her two tusks through the bottom of it.

At eight in the evening, a breeze sprang up to the eastward, with which we still continued our course to the southward, and at twelve fell in with numerous large bodies of ice. We endeavoured to push through them with an easy sail, for fear of damaging the ship; and having got a little farther to the southward, nothing was to be seen but one compact field of ice, stretching to the S.W., S.E., and N.E., as far as the eye could reach. This unexpected and formidable obstacle put an end to Captain Clerke's plan of visiting the Tschutski; for no space remained open, but back again to the northward. Accordingly, at three in the morning of the 11th, we tacked, and stood to that quarter. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 67 deg. 49', and longitude 188 deg. 47'.

On the 12th, we had light winds, with thick hazy weather; and on trying the current, we found it set to the N.W., at the rate of half a knot an hour. We continued to steer northward, with a moderate southerly breeze and fair weather till the 13th, at ten in the forenoon, when we again found ourselves close in with a solid field of ice, to which we could see no limits from the mast-head. This at once dashed all our hopes of penetrating farther, which had been considerably raised, by having now advanced near ten leagues through a space, which on the 9th we had found occupied by impenetrable ice. Our latitude at this time was 69 deg. 37'; our position nearly in the mid-channel between tween the two continents; and the field of ice extending from E.N.E. to W.S.W.

As there did not remain the smallest prospect of getting farther north in the part of the sea where we now were, Captain Clerke resolved to make one more and final attempt on the American coast, for Baffin's Bay, since we had been able to advance the farthest on this side last year. Accordingly we kept working the remaining part of the day to the windward, with a fresh easterly breeze. We saw several fulmars and arctic gulls, and passed two trees, both appearing to have lain in the water a long time. The larger was about ten feet in length, and three in circumference, without either bark or branches, but with the roots remaining attached.

On the 14th, we stood on to the eastward, with thick and foggy weather, our course being nearly parallel to that we steered the 8th and 9th, but six leagues more to the northward. On the 15th, the wind freshened from the westward, and having in a great measure dispersed the fog, we immediately stood to the northward, that we might take a nearer view of the ice; and in an hour were close in with it, extending from N.N.W. to N.E. We found it to be compact and solid; the outer parts were ragged, and of different heights; the interior surface was even, and we judged from eight to ten feet above the level of the sea. The weather becoming moderate for the remaining part of the day, we directed our course according to the trending of the ice, which in many parts formed deep bays.

In the morning of the 16th the wind freshened, and was attended with thick and frequent showers of snow. At eight in the forenoon, it blew a strong gale from the W.S.W., and brought us under double-reefed top-sails; when the weather clearing a little, we found ourselves embayed, the ice having taken a sudden turn to the S.E., and in one compact body surrounding us on all sides, except on the south quarter. We therefore hauled our wind to the southward, being at this time in latitude 70 deg. 8' N., and in twenty-six fathoms water; and, as we supposed, about twenty-five leagues from the coast of America. The gale increasing, at four in the afternoon we close reefed the fore and main top-sails, furled the mizen-top-sail, and got the top-gallant-yards down upon deck. At eight, finding the depth of water had decreased to twenty-two fathoms, which we considered as a proof of our near approach to the American coast, we tacked and stood to the north. We had blowing weather, accompanied with snow, through the night; but next morning it became clear and moderate, and at eight in the forenoon we got the top-gallant yards across, and made sail with the wind still at W.S.W. At noon we were in latitude, by observation, 69 deg. 55', longitude 194 deg. 30'. Toward evening the wind slackened, and at midnight it was a calm.

On the 18th, at five in the morning, a light breeze sprung up from the E.N.E., with which we continued our course to the north, in order to regain the ice as soon as possible. We passed some small logs of drift-wood, and saw abundance of sea-parrots, and the small ice-birds, and likewise a number of whales. At noon the latitude, by observation, was 70 deg. 26', and longitude 194 deg. 54'; the depth of water twenty-three fathoms; the ice stretched from N. to E.N.E., and was distant about three miles. At one in the afternoon, finding that we were close in with a firm united field of it, extending from W.N.W. to E., we tacked, and the wind coming round to the westward, stood on to the eastward, along its edge, till eleven at night. At that time a very thick fog coming on, and the water shoaling to nineteen fathoms, we hauled our wind to the south. The variation observed this day was 31 deg. 20' E. It is remarkable, that though we saw no sea-horses on the body of the ice, yet they were in herds, and in greater numbers on the detached fragments, than we had ever observed before. About nine in the evening, a white bear was seen swimming close by the Discovery; it afterward made to the ice, on which were also two others.

On the 19th, at one in the morning, the weather clearing up, we again steered to the N.E. till two, when we were a second time so completely embayed, that there was no opening left but to the south; to which quarter we accordingly directed our course, returning through a remarkably smooth water, and with very favourable weather, by the same way we had come in. We were never able to penetrate farther north than at this time, when our latitude was 70 deg. 33'; and this was five leagues short of the point to which we advanced last season. We held on to the S.S.W., with light winds from the N.W., by the edge of the main ice, which lay on our left hand, and stretched between us and the continent of America. Our latitude, by observation at noon, was 70 deg. 11', our longitude 196 deg. 15', and the depth of water sixteen fathoms. From this circumstance, we judged that the Icy Cape was now only at seven or eight leagues distance; but though the weather was in general clear, it was at the same time hazy in the horizon; so that we could not expect to see it.[24]

In the afternoon we saw two white bears in the water, to which we immediately gave chase in the jolly-boat, and had the good fortune to kill them both. The larger, which probably was the dam of the younger, being shot first, the other would not quit it, though it might easily have escaped on the ice whilst the men were reloading, but remained swimming about, till after being fired upon several times, it was shot dead.

The dimensions of the larger were as follow:

Ft. In.

From the snout to the end of the tail 7 2 From the snout to the shoulder-bone 2 3 Height of the shoulder 4 3 Circumference near the fore-legs 4 10 Breadth of the fore-paw 10

lb. Weight of the four quarters 436 Weight of the four quarters of the smallest 256

On comparing the dimensions of this with Lord Mulgrave's white bear, they were found almost exactly the same, except in the circumference, where our's fell exceedingly short.

These animals afforded us a few excellent meals of fresh meat. The flesh had, indeed, a strong filthy taste, but was, in every respect infinitely superior to that of the sea-horse; which nevertheless our people were again persuaded, without much difficulty, to prefer to their salted provisions.

At six in the morning of the 20th, a thick fog coming on, we lost sight of the ice for two hours; but the weather clearing, we saw the main body again to the S.S.E., when we hauled our wind, which was easterly, toward it, in the expectation of making the American coast to the S.E., and which we effected at half past ten. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69 deg. 33', and longitude 194 deg. 53', and the depth of water nineteen fathoms. The land extended from S. by E. to S.S.W. 1/2 W., distant eight or ten leagues, being the same we had seen last year; but it was now much more covered with snow than at that time, and to all appearance the ice adhered to the shore. We continued in the afternoon sailing through a sea of loose ice, and standing toward the land, as near as the wind, which was E.S.E., would admit. At eight the wind lessening, there came on a thick fog, and on perceiving a rippling in the water, we tried the current, which we found to set to the E.N.E., at the rate of a mile an hour, and therefore determined to steer during the night before the wind, in order to stem it, and to oppose the large fragments of loose ice that were setting us on toward the land. The depth of the water at midnight was twenty fathoms.

At eight in the morning of the 21st, the wind freshening, and the fog clearing away, we saw the American coast to the S.E., at the distance of eight or ten leagues, and hauled in for it; but were stopped again by the ice, and obliged to bear away to the westward, along the edge of it. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 69 deg. 34', and longitude 193 deg., and the depth of water twenty-four fathoms.

Thus a connected solid field of ice, rendering every effort we could make to a nearer approach to the land fruitless, and joining as we judged to it, we took a last farewell of a N.E passage to Old England. I shall beg leave to give, in Captain Clerke's own words, the reasons of this his final determination, as well as of his future plans; and this the rather, as it is the last transaction his health permitted him to write down.

"It is now impossible to proceed the least farther to the northward upon this coast (America); and it is equally as improbable that this amazing mass of ice should be dissolved by the few remaining summer-weeks which will terminate this season; but it will continue, it is to be believed, as it now is, an insurmountable barrier to every attempt we can possibly make. I therefore think it the best step that can be taken, for the good of the service, to trace the sea over to the Asiatic coast, and to try if I can find any opening, that will admit me farther north; if not, to see what more is to be done upon that coast; where I hope, yet cannot much flatter myself, to meet with better success; for the sea is now so choaked with ice, that a passage, I fear, is totally out of the question."

[21] Krusenstern substantially admits the correctness of Captain King's statement respecting the Russian hospital, &c. by saying, expressively enough, things are not quite so bad at present. It is evident, however, from his remarks, that the change to the better is almost to the full amount of being imperceptible, notwithstanding the zeal of some individuals whose exertions he is anxious to eulogize, and his own disposition to believe that their well-meant exertions have not been entirely fruitless. The change, it would seem, consists in the greater quantities of medicine sent to Kamtschatka, and not in the greater practicability of judiciously applying them. This, most persons of discernment will shrewdly suspect, is several degrees worse than problematically a change to the better. At least one could scarcely help desiring rather to accept peaceably the warrant of a natural death, than to risk the enhancement of a conflict on the doubtful aid of a bungling doctor, whose chief recommendation, perhaps, if he would but allow himself to be favoured by it, consisted in his avowed ignorance securing his neutrality. In such a case, indeed, and it seems on the whole to be almost the very one which K. describes, it is obvious enough that the medicines can at least do no more harm than the bottles and boxes that contain them; but then one cannot easily perceive wherein consists the merit or utility of having provided them, unless, as in the instance of fire-arms hung over the chimney never to be loaded or fired, or in that of idols of wood and stone which adorn the temples of pagans, but which can neither receive nor bestow favours, we shall suppose that the imagination of some potential advantages is quite equivalent to the reality of their operation. Krusenstern has some sensible remarks on the proper method of supplying Kamtschatka with well-qualified physicians, but they are of course foreign to this place, and cannot, therefore, properly be introduced.—E.